A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 572: Fragments

The moment Zhang Wuhen crushed the amber-like Xuan Jade that had housed her life force, most of its divine power was absorbed into her being to fuel her final struggle against Sun Hewu’s Seven Star Net Formation. Yet in her haste, she had been unable to absorb all its divine power. Countless shimmering fragments now floated freely through the air, scattering like fireflies in the night sky.

Qi Xuansu stared at the falling lights, barely concealing his excitement.

To a Pseudo-Immortal, these fragments were like breadcrumbs—insignificant and unworthy of notice. But to an ant, like Qi Xuansu, these crumbs were his sustenance.

Without regard for the lingering aftershocks of battle, Qi Xuansu began to stride toward Xingye Lake.

Seeing this, Yao Pei grabbed him firmly, halting his advance. “Have you lost your mind?! Do you want to die? I know you need divine power, but you should wait. These are already purified, so the divine power won’t simply vanish like incense power. Besides, Zhang Wuhen won’t linger in the Wanxiang Daoist Palace for long. We’ll get our chance later.”

Qi Xuansu snapped back to his senses. Yao Pei was right. As long as he was alive, he could always find other means to get divine power. But if he lost his life, everything would come to naught.

As expected, the Seven Star Net Formation collapsed with Sun Hewu’s defeat. The six remaining Deputy Palace Masters no longer bore any hope of stopping Zhang Wuhen. Instead, they immediately turned to aid Sun Hewu.

Not one of them chose to block Zhang Wuhen’s path of escape.

It was an unspoken understanding. Neither side wished to press further. Zhang Wuhen did not seek total annihilation. Instead, she chose to traverse Xingye Lake.

After all, there was no deep, irreconcilable hatred between her and these Deputy Palace Masters. Why should they risk their lives now, when they had already done their best?

The Wanxiang Daoist Palace’s protective formation did not fully encapsulate Xingye Lake. It only covered a portion of the lake because there was an open section where flying ships took off and landed.

The formation’s boundary lay roughly at the lake’s center. The water was a natural barrier for the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, and this separation created a flaw in the connection to the earth’s ley lines. Hence, this was the weakest point of the entire formation.

Zhang Wuhen, once a senior figure in the Daoist Order, was well aware of this flaw. Thus, instead of trying to break through from above, she headed directly toward the lake’s center.

The Wanxiang Daoist Palace’s formation was layered in its defenses. The Lower Palace and Upper Palace each held their own formations. Within the Upper Palace, each section also had independent formations for added protection.

The Pseudo-Immortal targeted the Lower Palace’s weakest point, so there was no reason for her to fail.

Suddenly, a blue curtain of light materialized above the lake’s surface. The water rippled and flowed around it.

Through the translucent barrier, one could clearly see what lay beyond.

Zhang Wuhen swept toward the glowing barrier, her hand forming a blade, condensing moonlight within her palm and slicing a crescent arc. The razor-sharp light tore a thin rift in the blue veil.

Her body transformed into moonlight, slipping through the breach in a single flicker and vanishing from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace.

As soon as Zhang Wuhen departed, the blue light curtain sealed itself, closing swiftly until the barrier stood whole once more.

Qi Xuansu and Yao Pei made their way toward Sun Hewu.

The six Deputy Palace Master had already cleared away the debris, freeing Sun Hewu from the collapsed rubble. The old Sage looked battered, but he was not critically injured. He was seated on the ground, giving swift orders to the remaining six Deputy Palace Masters.

“This matter is of grave importance. Deputy Palace Master Ning, head to the Ming Hall immediately and report everything to the Palace Master through the rapid post talisman.

“Deputy Palace Master Xu, inform the remaining two Deputies to strengthen security throughout the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. Make sure every key location is watched, every formation intact, and every Spirit Guard accounted for.”

“Deputy Palace Master Yao, gather the Golden-Purple and Silver-Green Instructors. Suspend all classes in the Lower Palace immediately. From now on, the instructors will be in charge of protecting and calming the children. Resumption of lessons will be decided later.”

The three Deputy Palace Masters immediately acknowledged the command and hurried off to make arrangements.

The remaining three Deputies stood in place until Sun Hewu turned to them.

“There have been two major incidents in a row while the Palace Master is absent. This is when doubt will fester. Don’t waste your time standing around me. Call for a meeting to reassure the personnel and stabilize their emotions. In troubled times like these, we must hold our own ground.”

Deputy Palace Master Zhou asked, “Elder Sun, are you truly alright?”

“I am of the same generation as Zhang Wuhen, so she couldn’t have killed me so casually. I’m not that useless.” Sun Hewu waved a hand dismissively. “Go on now.”

“Yes, sir.” The three Deputy Palace Masters reluctantly turned away and left the chaotic scene.

A few Spirit Guards remained standing at a distance.

Sun Hewu beckoned to the leading second-rank Spirit Guard. “You all should inspect the Lower Palace formations.”

“Understood.” The Spirit Guards promptly departed.

Now, only Sun Hewu, Qi Xuansu, and Yao Pei remained.

Sun Hewu turned to them and flashed a weary smile. “I owe you two a great deal. You’ve done well. But what in the world happened? Wasn’t the Ziguang Society supposed to be plotting to steal the divine power stored in the Confucian Sage statue? How did it turn into Zhang Wuhen rising from the dead?”

This was clearly not directed at Qi Xuansu, but at Yao Pei.

Though both Qi Xuansu and Yao Pei were from the Quanzhen Sect, Qi Xuansu was merely a peripheral figure. He had only recently begun to glimpse the inner workings of the sect. Yao Pei, on the other hand, was indisputably a core member.

As a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master and a Xiaoyao-stage Banished Immortal, Yao Pei held the privilege of meeting the Earthly Preceptor and Sage Donghua face-to-face. Thus, her knowledge of the Quanzhen Sect’s secrets likely surpassed even many second-rank Taiyi Daoist masters.

By now, Yao Pei had largely pieced together the sequence of events.

She said, “The Quanzhen Sect’s intelligence was not mistaken. Ziguang Society indeed sought to steal the divine power from the Confucian Sage statue. That’s hardly surprising because even within the Daoist Order, our own people tirelessly chip away at our foundations.

“No matter how discreet or restrained Ziguang Society tries to be, they would inevitably involve themselves. At most, they would not act as brazenly as the Lingshan Witch Cult or the Cult of Fates. True Lord Ziguang likely had no intention of descending into the mortal realm herself.”

Sun Hewu sighed. “That does make sense.”

Yao Pei continued, “Unlike the Cult of Fates, the Ziguang Society has never been one for brute force. They didn’t need an extravagant operation and only needed a small number of agents. The key was securing an insider within the Wanxiang Daoist Palace.

“That was how Zhang Juyan—who had long served as a Special-Rank Golden-Purple Instructor—became the leader of this heist. But Zhang Juyan alone wouldn’t have been enough.

“So, Ziguang Society employed their usual methods, manipulating Quanzhen Sect’s Pei Muyu to transfer that murdered female instructor into the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. It was through Pei Muyu’s connection that the Quanzhen Sect uncovered the scheme.”

Although the Wanxiang Daoist Palace was not subordinate to the Quanzhen Sect and was instead directly managed by the Grand Master, its location fell within the Quanzhen Sect’s territory.

There was a saying that a distant relative was no match for a close neighbor. Thus, the Wanxiang Daoist Palace had the closest ties with the Quanzhen Sect.

It was precisely due to this proximity that Sage Donghua was able to dispatch personnel into the closed-off Wanxiang Daoist Palace. Since Sun Hewu was currently the Acting Palace Master, there was no avoiding his involvement in this matter.

That was why Yao Pei saw no reason to conceal anything from the elderly Sage.

Yao Pei trusted that this highly respected elder would not turn against the Quanzhen Sect over this issue.

Sun Hewu mused, “That explains it. Qi Jianyuan only knew about Instructor Yang. He was unaware of Zhang Juyan’s role. So, he confronted the female instructor directly, only to be killed by her instead. As a result, Zhang Juyan silenced her to cover it all up.”

Yao Pei continued her explanation, “We detected traces of the Beidou 36 Swords on Qi Jianyuan’s flying sword. That led us to suspect another Special-Rank Golden-Purple Instructor, Hu Jiaode. But later, we realized Zhang Juyan had deliberately framed Hu Jiaode to mislead us, shifting our focus and throwing off our investigation.

“At that stage, everything still followed a predictable pattern. It was a simple game of cat-and-mouse. From my perspective, Zhang Juyan was merely making a desperate struggle. Even if he bought himself some time and successfully stole the divine power, how was he going to escape with it?

“His only way out would have been summoning True Lord Ziguang into the mortal realm. But the divine power within the Confucian Sage statue couldn’t compare to even half of that in Jinling Prefecture. For True Lord Ziguang to descend just for this would have been far too trivial a cause.”

Qi Xuansu interjected, “Logically speaking, Zhang Juyan couldn’t have escaped Wanxiang Daoist Palace with stolen divine power. So we shouldn’t have even been concerned about him attempting the theft. Instead, we should have immediately returned to the Upper Palace to report to the Palace Master and awaited further instructions.

“But who could have predicted Zhang Juyan never intended to leave the Wanxiang Daoist Palace alive? If not for Su Yi’s swift action in rushing to the Star Observation Deck, we wouldn’t have learned of Zhang Wuhen’s resurrection in time.”

Sun Hewu sighed, “Had that happened, we wouldn’t even know what hit us if Zhang Wuhen stirred up a storm outside and the Golden Tower Council traced accountability back to us. By then, I would have to forgo my position as Deputy Palace Master and a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master. My lifetime of reputation would have been utterly ruined.”

Yao Pei remained expressionless, speaking calmly. “Unfortunately, we have miscalculated. Zhang Juyan exploited the Ziguang Society. Outwardly, he joined them under the pretense of stealing divine power for True Lord Ziguang. But in truth, he leveraged Ziguang Society’s resources to resurrect his mother, Zhang Wuhen.

“Ziguang Society ended up getting betrayed by their own. Even after meticulous planning and the investment of so many resources, they unwittingly served another’s cause instead.

“So, the Quanzhen Sect’s intelligence was not wrong. That female instructor and Pei Muyu fully deserved their fates.”

Sun Hewu stood up. “I have no further questions. Later, I will personally draft an official letter to Old Shi and discuss the matter with him before making a formal report to the Golden Tower Council. Would you mind if I include this segment in my report?”

Yao Pei replied, “I have only one request, Sage Sun. Please omit Pei Muyu’s name from the report. Simply state that the Quanzhen Sect provided the intelligence. If anyone asks for specifics, just say you don’t know and redirect all inquiries to my master instead.”

“No problem.” Sun Hewu agreed readily.

Then he turned to Qi Xuansu. “And you, boy?”

“I get a say too?” Qi Xuansu was a bit surprised.

Sun Hewu smiled. “Given your current state, you clearly pulled your weight in this, so I’ll keep things fair. You may request one thing from me as well, in addition to a formal Daoist merit.”

Without hesitation, Qi Xuansu pointed toward the fallen fragments of the amber. “I’d like those scattered fragments if that’s possible...”

Before Qi Xuansu could finish speaking, Sun Hewu had already agreed. “Sure!”

With a sweep of his sleeve, countless points of light ascended from the lake. The scattered tiny fragments merged, forming one large, solid piece of broken amber.